Sweet talk from Westfield Corporation about funding a full-time
city planner to work on its plans for a mega mall on a portion of
Gilroy’s infamous
”
660
”
acres has piqued the interest of city officials.
Sweet talk from Westfield Corporation about funding a full-time city planner to work on its plans for a mega mall on a portion of Gilroy’s infamous “660” acres has piqued the interest of city officials.
Such talk is premature at best. After all, the land in question is currently zoned for industrial use.
Seven years ago, during the city’s update of its 20-year general plan, the controversial idea of including the 660 acres of farmland just east of the Gilroy Premium Outlets was presented to city leaders as the best way to position Gilroy to attract high-tech companies. Morgan Hill has had success with two large industrial parks on either side of Cochrane Road.
Those high-tech companies would bring better jobs than the low-paying service jobs Gilroy’s retail employers offer.
They would diversify Gilroy’s economy, which, with the dominant presence of retailers, is too heavily reliant on fickle sales tax revenues.
They would not tax Gilroy’s public safety services such as retailers, which draw traffic and shoplifters and significantly impact Gilroy’s police force.
Because of those factors, and more, Gilroy’s city leaders made the controversial decision to include the 660 in the city’s general plan and zone it for industrial use, despite knowing that they would draw the ire of environmentalists and the Local Agency Formation Commission.
Now, roughly one-third into the general plan’s life, city leaders are swooning from the allure of more sales tax dollars from Westfield, which wants the city to rezone at least 119 acres of the 660 so it can build a 1.5-million-square-foot mall.
City Councilman Craig Gartman sounds like he’s infatuated. “It’s an honor to be even thought of as being a marketplace for such a large investment,” he told reporter Serdar Tumgoren.
Before the city succumbs to the siren song of retail development, let’s consider some of the consequences of this seduction:
n If the city wants to create another industrial hub, the site will likely be outside city limits, meaning city officials must face LAFCO to acquire that land. After the 660 general plan dust-up, LAFCO has been cold-hearted to Gilroy’s annexation requests.
n Further dependence on retail means less opportunity to diversify Gilroy’s economy. Do we really want to pay the opportunity cost of taking land slated for industrial development and changing it to retail.
n While additional retail development will benefit the city’s coffers, that’s not the complete picture. How much retail is too much for a city our size? And can we afford the impact on our already stressed streets and overtaxed police force?
Before we weigh in on the wisdom of a Westfield-funded city planner, these questions must be answered first: Do we really want more retail, and if yes, do we really want it on the 660?
Let’s carefully consider the those questions before Westfield’s retail seduction is consummated with a rezoning decision.
